Nearby Words

sparkish

[spahrk] Origin

spark

2[spahrk]
noun
1.
a gay, elegant, or foppish young man.
2.
a beau, lover, or suitor.
3.
a woman of outstanding beauty, charm, or wit.
verb (used with object)
4.
Informal: Older Use. to woo; court.

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Sparkish is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
verb (used without object)
5.
Informal: Older Use. to engage in courtship; woo.

Origin:
1565–75; figurative use of spark1, or < Old Norse sparkr quick, lively

spark·ish, adjective
spark·ish·ly, adverb
spark·ish·ness, noun
spark·like, adjective
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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World English Dictionary
spark2 (spɑːk)
 
n
1.  a fashionable or gallant young man
2.  ironic usually (Brit) bright spark a person who appears clever or witty: some bright spark left the papers next to the open window
 
vb
3.  rare to woo (a person)
 
[C16 (in the sense: beautiful or witty woman): perhaps of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse sparkr vivacious]
 
'sparkish2
 
adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

spark
O.E. spearca, from P.Gmc. *spark- (cf. M.L.G. sparke, M.Du. spranke, not found in other Gmc. languages). Electrical sense dates from 1748. Slang sense of "a gallant, a beau, a lover" (c.1600) is perhaps a fig. use, but also perhaps from cognate O.N. sparkr "lively." The verb is attested from c.1300;
EXPAND
the slang meaning "stimulate, to trigger" first attested 1912. Spark plug first recorded 1903 (sparking plug is from 1902); fig. sense of "one who initiates or is a driving force in some activity" is from 1941.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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